Five flicks to get you politically charged for today’s elections ARTS
l
PAGE 5
MEN’S TENNIS SHUTS OUT PURDUE
Team bounces back after tough 4-3 loss to Northwestern Saturday with 7-0 victory Sunday
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Complete campus coverage since 1892
l
dailycardinal.com
THE CARDINAL INVESTIGATES... MADISON PROPERTY MANAGEMENT An in-depth look into MPM’s security deposit practices By Ryan Hebel THE DAILY CARDINAL
There is nothing “normal” about house dust. Just ask Madison Property Management. That is what UW-Madison graduate Elizabeth Gokey discovered in August when MPM withheld $175 from her security deposit for five hours of “cleaning.” Gokey, who works at Madison’s Tenant Resource Center, asked to see what MPM had cleaned at her Jenifer
Street apartment, since she knew a recent city ordinance required landlords to document security deposit deductions for cleaning. MPM sent her more than 40 photos. However, Gokey said most of the cleaning depicted was for “normal wear and tear,” an illegal deduction under another city ordinance. Gokey was especially upset to see photos depicting dust, peeling paint and dirt under her refrigerator. Several of the photos, she added, were blurry or indecipherable, and others, including one of a bucket under her kitchen sink full of water from a leaking pipe, “showed more that the apartment was crappy than that I had not cleaned.”
(A slideshow of photos from MPM is available at dailycardinal.com.) Gokey is not alone. A monthlong investigation into dozens of tenant complaints and the policies of three prominent property management companies in the campus area—MPM, Apex Property Management and Steve Brown Apartments— revealed several disturbing trends. Of the 28 tenant complaints collected during the investigation, 18 were directed against MPM, three against Apex and a total of seven against Anchor Property Management, Wisconsin Management Company, Ripple Management and JSM Properties. The most common accusations dealt with negligent, predatory or even illegal policies toward security deposits, late-fee accounting or maintenance issues. Complaints came from the Department of Consumer Protection, Dane County Small Claims Court and interviews with members of two anti-MPM Facebook groups. No similar Facebook groups were found criticizing Madison’s other property agencies. However, among the three agencies investigated, only MPM was found with strong evidence of security deposit policy violations, problematic accounting practices and neglected maintenance issues.
PART 1 OF 3
Tips for tenants Always take pictures of any damaged conditions or let uninvolved witnesses see them for future reference. If your landlord takes money from your security deposit, you have the right to see a cost breakdown including what was cleaned, how many hours it took and how much the cleaners were paid. Landlords are now obligated to photograph all damages they subtract from deposits and must show tenants these photos upon request and let them know they are available. Security deposits in Madison cannot exceed the first month’s rent. It is illegal for landlords to charge tenants for anything included in the “normal wear and tear.” Carpetcleaning fees, for example, should not be taken out of your deposit unless there are major stains or other damage.
Shifting costs According to Wisconsin Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jim Rabbitt, Gokey’s story reflects a larger problem among some property managers today. “One of the things you see in the industry ... is that [landlords] are shifting a lot of their costs mpm page 3
Candidates vie for Supreme Court seat Moderate voter turnout expected in statewide race By Caitlin Gath THE DAILY CARDINAL
After months of campaigning, Wisconsin Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Jefferson County Judge Randy Koschnick will face off in the state Supreme Court election Tuesday. According to Government Accountability Board Director Kevin Kennedy, however, voter turnout will likely only be moderate.
“For past contested Supreme Court races, voters came out to vote at a rate of 20 percent, and we expect a 20 percent turnout this coming Tuesday,” he said in a statement. Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, agreed with Kennedy when he said turnout in the spring elections has been disappointing for years. “A very small minority of voters decide some pretty important elections,” he said. “They decide who sits in some pretty important offices, and the majority of voters don’t have a say.” court page 4
SPORTS S
l
PAGE 8
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH A monthlong series focused on sexual violence in America and on the UW-Madison campus in an effort to dispel myths and educate students, including weekly feature articles and daily facts.
Experts debunk sexual assault By Kelsey Gunderson THE DAILY CARDINAL
Nearly 25 percent of women in the United States experience sexual assault at some point in their lives, but most of these women may not know they are victims of a heinous crime. Several UW-Madison sexual assault experts work on a daily basis to educate students about the reality of the crime and how to debunk common misconceptions. “As much as people think— they want to think—that rape is a rare thing, the reality is it … isn’t even close to being rare,” said Kelly Anderson, director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center. Anderson said many people believe rape is rare because it is drastically underreported. Katie Simons, media chair for Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, a student organization that promotes sexual assault education, said victims are usually hesitant to report the crime because the perpetrator is almost always someone they know. “We have this idea about this person in the bushes who is going to jump out and rape somebody,” she said. “But in reality, based on statistics, they are really people we interact with on a daily basis, an intimate partner or a friend.” Confusion over sexual assault
laws can compound problems with reporting. “One of the most common calls we get to our center is people saying, ‘I’m not sure if I am calling the right place, I’m not sure if what happened to me was rape,’ and what they describe is absolutely rape under Wisconsin statute,” she said. Most people are unaware of the definition of sexual consent, which is why victims are often unsure if what they endured was rape, according to Simons.
“Consent is a freely given ‘yes’ and not the absence of ‘no.’” Katie Simons media chair Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment
“Consent is a freely given ‘yes’ and not the absence of ‘no,’” she said. “A lot of times when you tell people that, they will be like, ‘Wow, I actually have to hear the consent.’” Although men are commonly viewed as the enemy in sexual assaults, Carmen Hotvedt, student services coordinator at University Health Services, stressed that men, assault page 4
“Justices decide important issues that affect all of us, and everyone wants a justice who’s fair, impartial and independent. Because of low voter turnout, this is a great chance for students to make their voices heard.” ABRAHAMSON
“Students should be interested in electing a justice who will apply the law, not make the law. Justice Abrahamson has centralized too much power in the judicial system, thereby usurping the authority of the legislature. This type of judicial activism essentially steals power from the people when judges substitute their own will for the will of the people.” KOSCHNICK
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”